22: The Happy Face Killer: Psychopathy, Control, and Confession

About this episode

This episode examines the psychology of Keith Jesperson, the 'Happy Face Killer', through expert insights and archival materials.

Keith Hunter Jesperson wanted to be seen. Between 1990 and 1995, the long-haul truck driver murdered women across the United States while carefully shaping the story around himself. He wrote letters to newspapers. Confessed on truck stop bathroom walls. Participated in psychological research studies about his own behavior. Even donating his brain to science after death. But beneath the “Happy Face Killer” persona is something more revealing: a man driven by grandiosity, callousness, impulsivity, and an insatiable need for recognition. In this episode of UNMARKED , we examine the psychology of Keith Jesperson through exclusive conversations with author and investigator M. William Phelps, archival interviews with Jesperson himself, contemporary forensic psychology, and the systemic failures that allowed vulnerable victims to go unseen for decades. You can hear more from M. William Phelps on Crossing the Line: https://crossingtheline.biz/ This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKED If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday If you want to go…

People in this episode

Guest: M. William Phelps

Topics covered

• psychopathy
• true crime
• murder
• forensic psychology
• systemic failures
• recognition

Keywords

• Happy Face Killer
• Keith Jesperson
• psychopathy
• true crime
• forensic psychology
• M. William Phelps

Sponsors

Betterhelp

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crossing the Line

Books & works: Charles Manson: The Last Words

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• 25: Wayne Williams: Psychopath or Scapegoat? · June 3, 2026 · 56 min
• 24: Erin Caffey: Who Was Really Responsible? · May 27, 2026 · 55 min
• 23: John Wayne Gacy: What His Death Row Attorney Discovered · May 20, 2026 · 58 min
• 21: Joel Rifkin: What the Psychologist Discovered · May 6, 2026 · 54 min
• 20: BTK: The Identity Dennis Rader Built · April 29, 2026 · 49 min